Hello guys, my name is Kilo and
today I will explain the procedure I follow in creating the maps in our
metroidvania game ‘Astra: Fading Stars’. For this system we are going to use a
very familiar to most of you formula, which is the map formula of Hollow
Knight. The main reasons for this selection are simplicity and practicality. To
my perspective this is a fundamental design that you can later expand upon
and make it much more intricate. Today’s map design analysis includes the most
important features in metroidvanias such as (topology, abilities and upgrades, secret rooms
and a system that GMTK likes to call “locks and keys”.) Of course these are principles that
can be used in all kinds of games as well. Now, there are many levels of macro and
micro implementation so here’s a breakdown. I would say that usually this is not
a linear step by step procedure but layers of design that happen in parallel.
However, for simplicity’s and clarity’s sake I will put them in order starting
from macroscopic to microscopic level. That being said, we start from designing
the overworld map into the different areas/landscapes into the individual rooms which
are then connected together in a global system. The reason I like to start with the big
picture of things is that you can then have a general direction according
to your story and world-building, rather than blindly design piece
by piece in an unspecified layout. The most frequent pattern in these kinds of
games is having your player first visit some specific locations in the world before they
are able to collect all the strength they need to reach the ultimate destination and
the final boss. On that note you can vaguely begin to place those critical points sparsely
around the map so that the player will travel all across the continent and phase all
the different challenges along the way. Thus, you then begin drawing the routes
connecting all the critical points in your map which may or not have a linear pattern.
The linearity highly depends on what access the player has to his key abilities, which
will enable them to traverse the map, and at what point of the game they can
find them. Usually you will have those key abilities obtainable in a recognized
spot in your map and this is where you start putting your landmarks like towers, shrines,
grooves, clearings, caves and what have you. Slowly the story is built around the critical
points and thus you begin to specify larger parts of the map. (You may for example want your
player to pass through a mysterious forest and meet some kind of strange creatures) These
ideas will then bring forth side stories, events, placement of landscapes and
of course world-building and lore. At this point, even if you
don’t have your map complete, you definitely hold a very good
idea of your general layout. Thus you now proceed to the level
design of the different areas. Here it is important to know which abilities the
player will have at their disposal or which ones you want them to use more often. That way you
can design the topology accordingly. Usually, more platforming abilities mean you will get
to space up your terrain and platforms more. Keep also in mind that upgrades are an important
part of the player’s progression. Oftentimes you want to keep the important upgrades
behind some extra challenging path, so you will have to make space
on your map for these sections. Here’s a rough sketch of this area,
it is the beginning of the game so we keep it pretty simple. We have a linear
path that ends up in a boss fight. Then the player will proceed to the next
area which will be much more open. Now, this level acts more like a
tutorial where the player learns to manipulate their initial ability, the
“Astra Call”. This is an ability that defines the game to a great degree both
in gameplay and lorewise. That is why a lot of emphasis is given on teaching
the player how to properly use it. When you have your general layout setup you can
then break it into parts. These will be your individual “rooms or scenes” of the level.
This process becomes easier with experience and multiple iterations. At this point it is
good to keep in mind the relative size of the character so you can have a general idea of the
spacing. (More on the character scaling later.) Note that I am marking the lock points of
the level. These are points that block the player’s progression and can be overcomed
either with new abilities, items or events. Finally I also like to mark other
miscellaneous stuff like NPCs, events, checkpoints and secrets.
Of course all the details will be in the documentation files which
you should write about your designs. Now we come to the part where we
need to design each individual room. This is the time when all
the micro details will be added. When designing the topology of the room
keep in mind the following parameters; size of the player, mobility of the
player, and estimated current abilities. These parameters give you a good idea about the
spacing of your terrain and platforms. Of course, things can be readjusted in the process but
it’s good to have an initial good estimation. I would also add roughly some gameplay elements such as enemies and platformings and also
markings about secrets or story elements. Once again the details of your level
would be in the documentation files. Eventually, through many iterations you will get a more defined topology and become more
specific with your gameplay elements. Finally, you add the artwork
and have your room complete. With that being said we can now
proceed on drawing our mini-map. But before that, I want to make a small pause to
inform you guys about our upcoming metroidvania game “Astra: Fading Stars”. You can
try a free demo on steam right now. Also, a fantasy adventure
book called ‘Song of Elusica: The Ancient Gemstone’ is written in the same
world as the game so be sure to check it out. Okay back to the map! So now I have all my individual rooms
complete and I am going to place them in their corresponsive place on the layout. See
how each one of them is connected to one another. Keep in mind that the scaling of the
player is always relative to the scaling of the map. In my case the player is
5 times smaller in the area map and 10 times even smaller in the overworld
map. This means that if I multiply the overworld map by 50 times I would get
the size of my game in pixels or inches. Now, when drawing the lineart of the mini map I
always keep in mind the lines’ language. In my case I don’t want to reveal much information
about the topology of each room so I’m just drawing rough shapes just to give the player
a general direction of their environment. Occasionally I add some landmarks or markings to
indicate important or characteristic features. Note that the presentation of the map can
have many iterations before reaching its final state. In my case I initially deliver
to the player a rough layout of the area. Later on as they discover more the map will
be filled with secret rooms or other markings. This pretty much wraps up the process.
Gradually the many different areas will connect together and complete the overworld map. Have fun with your own map
designs and thanks for watching!
